A DEBATE between the First Minister and Farage would also be conditional on the UKIP leader having been allowed to join the No campaign.

ALEX Salmond said yesterday he may agree to debate with UKIP’s Nigel Farage on independence.

But the First Minister insisted he must debate with David Cameron first – a confrontation the Prime Minister has refused to consider.

And his encounter with Farage would also be conditional on the UKIP leader having been allowed to join the No campaign.

Salmond spoke out after Farage threatened to “shake up” the independence debate in Scotland.

The First Minister also spoke of his confidence that UKIP’s support in Scotland would quickly slip from the 10 per cent which won them their first Scots MEP.

But the new MEP, David Coburn, accused Salmond of being “feart of Farage” and using Cameron’s long-standing refusal to debate with him as a “get-out clause”.

Salmond and his Cabinet met in public in Rutherglen, near Glasgow, yesterday.

The First Minister, who was greeted by a group of about 50 unionists waving Union flags and banners, said independence would “create sustainable prosperity across the whole of Scotland”.

When asked if he would debate with Farage, Salmond said: “I think we have to start with the Prime Minister first.

“He’s the leader of the No campaign and I think First Minister to Prime Minister is the first debate that must happen.

“Then we have to find out if Mr Farage is welcomed into the No campaign. Uncomfortable
bedfellows hardly sums up the difficulty the No campaign are going to have as a result of that.”

He added: “The first I heard from David Coburn was that he was completely tongue-tied when
asked what policies he had for Scotland. He also said a variety of extraordinary things about political comparisons. I think he has to be examined now he’s an elected politician and I look forward to that.”

“As their policies come under examination, I think their support will slide.”

Coburn said: “David Cameron is his get-out clause. He’s not really offering it. He’s too terrified out of his wits of debating with Farage.

“He won’t do it unless he has a pop at Cameron because he knows he will knock him into a cocked hat, that’s his objective.

“He knows Cameron is hopeless and it will be like shooting rats in a barrel. He’s feart of Farage.”

At the meeting in Rutherglen, Salmond spoke of how if Scotland votes Yes, it will become
independent in the “most promising circumstances” of virtually any nation in history.

Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie labelled the address “more of the same divisive and negative politics” and insisted he had yet to give credible answers on currency, pensions and public services.

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AS it is impossible to be certain of the economic consequences of a Yes vote, supporters of independence who suggest that Scotland will be a fairer place to live than England after the referendum are only making a guess.